warning

 words are dangerous. use sparingly.

What about this weather we're having?

I too am guilty of starting conversations by talking about the weather. Just this morning, with the mailman, in fact. Weather as a topic has been criticized as shallow, inane, pointless. But it is a safe way to open a connection with a stranger, so that they are no longer strange. It is something we all experience in common, regardless of our background and circumstances. And it is a door, slightly ajar, which can be opened wider or slammed shut.

2004-2005

old, old entries no longer publishable for some reason. posting their preview screenshots. for posterity, future sources of embarrassment, or just because i can't stand things going to waste :P

perspective

I've seen fb posts asking for pictures of smiling mothers, or cute pets, or friendship messages to 'flood facebook with positivity', in an effort to blot out the negative posts. Not one to post much myself, I usually don't respond, but it got me to thinking, what do people usually see in facebook? I can imagine a lot of trolling, bad news, anger and frustration, but I don't see much of it when I scroll, and I certainly don't click to zoom if I do. I see lots of jokes, people laughing, food shots (some not so appetizing). And of course, the token vanity selfies. 

When I read the news, there's a lot of greed, corruption, abuse, and now, sickness and death. It is depressing, and makes me think, what a horrible world this is, I just want to hide under a rock.

But I think again, to the last time I was "out there", and remember.. the bank teller who always has a smile for everyone (and it's not plastered on). the man at the checkout counter who let me pay first because I had just a couple of items. the driver that let me pass as I tried to cross the street. And then I see, that no, it's not a horrible world, at least not where I live. 

Not to say that we should put blinders on, and pretend the horror isn't there. But if we put it in perspective, and act nevertheless with kindness, see with understanding rather than bias, then the horror becomes small and distant, almost unreal. 

Same thing happens on facebook. If you focus on the posts that give joy, then that's what you get as well.

As with the world, facebook is what you make it. 

traffic

sometimes it seems like every other driver out there is a fucking moron or a fucking asshole. bless the few rays of light when a considerate driver lets another car or pedestrian pass. fuck the idiot traffic guard for berating me for letting a pedestrian pass instead of running him down like i think he wanted me to.

that's all for today.

sharing

Even when I was still a programmer, I was amazed at people who went out of their way to share their knowledge with strangers. When I'd get stuck in my code, there was often someone out there with the same problem, and miraculously, someone else with the answer. 

(Now that I think about it, I was never a very good programmer. Any code breakthroughs and bug fixes I made were almost always at the tail end of a google search.)

I've always been a parasite in the online community, never contributing what I had learned, even when I saw unanswered questions that I knew the solution to. Too lazy, too selfish, I guess. 

And now, trying something new (that I'm also not very good at), again I am saved by a stranger. Thanks to her blog post , I was able to finish my little project for my niece's birthday: a little shoulder bag to go with this cute little dress we bought for her. I was about to toss the bag in the bin it was so ugly, but this little fabric flower really turned it around.

Yes, this is light years away from programming. But it's the same spirit of sharing. Thank you, kind strangers, from the java geeks of years ago to the sewing goddesses now, thank you so much. Someday, maybe I'll have something to share too :D

Keeping cool.

It used to irritate me to no end to see our refrigerator looking like this:

Stacks and stacks of water bottles taking up half the fridge space! My 'common sense' told me it was stupid and pointless, we only need at most a couple bottles at a time. But I kept my mouth shut and let it slide.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, I read an article that refrigerators are actually more energy-efficient when they're full than when they're empty. 

Huh?! (gears creaking) ohh.... right!

Good thing I kept my mouth shut hehe.